Following are some of the important factors that affect the economic growth of a country:
(a) Human Resource
Refers to one of the most important determinant of economic growth of a country. The quality and quantity of available human resource can directly affect the growth of an economy.
The quality of human resource is dependent on its skills, creative abilities, training, and education. If the human resource of a country is well skilled and trained then the output would also be of high quality.
On the other hand, a shortage of skilled labor hampers the growth of an economy, whereas surplus of labor is of lesser significance to economic growth. Therefore, the human resources of a country should be adequate in number with required skills and abilities, so that economic growth can be achieved.
(b) Natural Resources
Affect the economic growth of a country to a large extent. Natural resources involve resources that are produced by nature either on the land or beneath the land. The resources on land include plants, water resources and landscape.
The resources beneath the land or underground resources include oil, natural gas, metals, non-metals, and minerals. The natural resources of a country depend on the climatic and environmental conditions. Countries having plenty of natural resources enjoy good growth than countries with small amount of natural resources.
The efficient utilization or exploitation of natural resources depends on the skills and abilities of human resource, technology used and availability of funds. A country having skilled and educated workforce with rich natural resources takes the economy on the growth path.
The best examples of such economies are developed countries, such as United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France. However, there are countries that have few natural resources, but high per capita income, such as Saudi Arabia, therefore, their economic growth is very high. Similarly, Japan has a small geographical area and few natural resources, but achieves high growth rate due to its efficient human resource and advanced technology.
(c) Capital Formation
Involves land, building, machinery, power, transportation, and medium of communication. Producing and acquiring all these manmade products is termed as capital formation. Capital formation increases the availability of capital per worker, which further increases capital/labor ratio. Consequently, the productivity of labor increases, which ultimately results in the increase in output and growth of the economy.
(d) Technological Development
Refers to one of the important factors that affect the growth of an economy. Technology involves application of scientific methods and production techniques. In other words, technology can be defined as nature and type of technical instruments used by a certain amount of labor.
Technological development helps in increasing productivity with the limited amount of resources. Countries that have worked in the field of technological development grow rapidly as compared to countries that have less focus on technological development. The selection of right technology also plays an role for the growth of an economy. On the contrary, an inappropriate technology- results in high cost of production.
(e) Social and Political Factors
Play a crucial role in economic growth of a country. Social factors involve customs, traditions, values and beliefs, which contribute to the growth of an economy to a considerable extent.
For example, a society with conventional beliefs and superstitions resists the adoption of modern ways of living. In such a case, achieving becomes difficult. Apart from this, political factors, such as participation of government in formulating and implementing various policies, have a major part in economic growth.